Diagnostic System Using Endoscope

1. A diagnostic system comprising an operator's diagnostic unit installed in an examination room, and an instructor's diagnostic unit installed in an instructor room that is remote from the examination room, said operator's diagnostic unit and said instructor's diagnostic unit communicating with each other so that an operator in the examination room may make a diagnosis while getting instructions from an instructor staying in the instructor room, wherein said operator's diagnostic unit comprises: an inquiry data input device for inputting inquiry data; an electronic endoscope which comprises an imaging device for obtaining an image signal from a site to observe inside a body cavity, a device for digitalizing the image signal to be a picture signal, a modulator for producing a first radio frequency signal by subjecting the picture signal to quadrature modulation and superimposing the inquiry data on the modulated picture signal while shifting the phase of the inquiry data, and a sender for sending the first radio frequency signal as a first electric wave; an operator's processor which comprises a receiver for receiving electric waves, a demodulator for demodulating the first radio frequency signal into the original picture signal and the inquiry data when the first electric wave is received from said electronic endoscope, and for deriving instruction data from a second radio frequency signal that is received as a second electric wave from said instructor's diagnostic unit, and a signal processing device for producing an endoscopic image from the picture signal; a monitor for displaying the endoscopic image; and a data output device for outputting the instruction data received from said instructor's diagnostic unit; and wherein said instructor's diagnostic unit comprises: an instruction data input device for inputting the instruction data; an instructor's processor which comprises a receiver for receiving the first electric wave from said operator's diagnostic unit, a demodulator for demodulating the first radio frequency signal into the original picture signal and the inquiry data, a signal processing device for producing the endoscopic image from the picture signal, a modulator for modulating the instruction data into the second radio frequency signal, and a sender for sending the second radio frequency signal as the second electric wave to said operator's diagnostic unit; a monitor for displaying the endoscopic image; and a data output device for outputting the inquiry data received from said operator's diagnostic unit.

2. A diagnostic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said operator's diagnostic unit and said instructor's diagnostic unit send and receive the inquiry data and the instruction data according to a half-duplex communication method.

3. A diagnostic system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said data output device of said operator's diagnostic unit is controlled so as not to output the instruction data while the operator is inputting the inquiry data through said inquiry data input device, whereas said data output device of said instructor's diagnostic unit is controlled so as not to output the inquiry data while the instructor is inputting the instruction data through said instruction data input device.

4. A diagnostic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the inquiry data and the instruction data include at least one of voice signals, character signals and set-up data for controlling operations of said diagnostic system.

5. A diagnostic system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising a plurality of said operator's diagnostic units, wherein an individual channel of a frequency band for sending and receiving the electric waves is allocated to each of said operator's diagnostic units, whereas said instructor's diagnostic unit is provided with a switching device for switching between the channels to select one from among said operator's diagnostic units.

6. A diagnostic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said modulator of said electronic endoscope modulates the picture signal according to a quadraphase-shift keying method, and superimposes the inquiry data as on the modulated picture signal while shifting the phase of the inquiry data by 45°, whereas said modulator of said instructor's processor modulates a dummy signal in the same way as the picture signal, and superimposes the instruction data on the modulated dummy signal, while shifting the phase of the instruction data by 45°.